Loyalty means something, and so does the willingness to stand up and fight

[madfloridian]

to stand up and fight when the odds are against doing well at all. Christine Cegelis did that in 04. So many of us still support her. Thanks for the nice diary, Renee. On my way to donate again.

http://howardempowered.blogspot.com/2006/01/grassroots-for-cegelis.html

"Grassroots for Cegelis
It was a bummer, but not especially surprising, I suppose, to see this diary by Michael in Chicago, "Union Endorses Non-Union Candidate". After all, Howard Dean had union support when he looked like he was going to be the Democratic nominee and started to lose that support as soon as the tides seemed to be turning.

When it became clear that the Democratic machine was pushing Christine's opponent, Tammy Duckworth, I felt it was important to do what we could to rally behind one of our former "Dean Dozen" candidates."

Because loyalty means something to Deaniacs. And so does the courage to be the one to stand up and fight in the first place, when the odds don't look so good. The DC Dem attitude of, "Oh, we have a chance at this seat now? We'll put up our *own* hand-picked candidate, thank you very much!"



http://www.cegelisforcongress.com/

[firefox]

1. Related thread from today

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2367394

[madfloridian]

2. Saw that. We know DFA will support her again, but we just decided....

to go ahead. They are coming out with the new DFA list in a month or so....and we felt now was the time to take a stand. Got a little impatient.

She has a good crew on the ground, and it is time to speak out on it.

Thanks for the link. :hi:

[madfloridian]

3. Nice interview with her from epluribusmedia at this link.

She is a pro-choice Catholic, says that is not the government's business.

"ePMedia: You mentioned that you are Catholic. We've read that you are pro-choice.

CC: I am pro-choice. I am also very Catholic. I don't believe that this is something that the government should be getting into. It's an issue that belongs within the religious and personal realm, and just not something the government should define.

ePMedia: We're old enough to remember JFK's run for president; his Catholicism was a big issue because it was feared he would take his orders from Rome and not from the American people. The reverse seems to be the issue now, in that many on the right prefer a more religious government as opposed to a more secular one.

CC: My religious and spiritual beliefs are part of what drove me to want to be in public service. Certainly a lot of people of religious faith are strongly coming out for social justice issues, but we also need to be respectful of the fact that there are people of other religious beliefs. The government should not push any particular religion. When life begins is defined differently in different religions -- and on this issue it's a personal matter of faith."

More of the interview here, with pictures.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/8/91552/00245

[Hidden Stillness]

4. Catholics Who Can Follow Politics Under the Law

This post about being a pro-choice, deeply religious Catholic reminded me of something I was thinking about a few days ago. Some years ago, we in Michigan had a moderately liberal Republican, pro-choice Governor named William Milliken, who did not try to cut all social programs, bust unions, or polarize the whole State--it really existed then. Milliken's head of the Michigan Dept. of Social Services was a Catholic nun named Sister Agnes Mary Mansour, a social activist and liberal. There was no controversy whatsoever about this, and she did her job, allowed abortions to be covered, etc., until the Catholic Church told her to either quit the job or resign as a member of her Order--which she did, and kept the job running the Dept. of Social Services, not denying abortions, etc. There were no protests, no litmus tests, it was all so ordinary then. It is hard to believe that things were so moderate and sane then; like this is not even the same country...You might recall Milliken, by the way, having endorsed John Kerry during this last "election."

[madfloridian]

5. Oddly enough, the Catholics in my family are more tolerant than Baptists.

At least more tolerant than Southern Baptists. I don't know how true that is everywhere, but their tolerance level is much higher than the Baptist church I grew up.

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. good article about the cegelis campaign on the Daily Kos

from the Daily Kos

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/13/192556/60


"Reclaiming the American Dream" and focus on what is important to district voters, Cegelis has spent her campaign funds on name recognition, grassroots support, and a strong volunteer network in IL-06. Rather than just fixating on her anti-war position, Cegelis' over-arching message has consistently promoted core Democratic values such as supporting Veterans who fought in Iraq. From the Cegelis blog:

"You want to know Cegelis' priorities, there they are right in her core message: work hard and play by the rules and the Federal government will keep its promises. That sounds like a good match up to a guy like Roskam who has ties to Tom DeLay and his corrupt ways, and is far to the Right of the district in general.

But this doesn't matter, since Cegelis is focusing on message and building a robust campaign infrastructure, much like the DNC, all that is noted about her campaign is her lack of cash on hand and burn rate - both of which seem similar the DNC's. Due to this, in the minds of those from the Beltway, it would be better to recruit a "war hero" candidate, who may not even live in the district, but could generate more fundraising dollars.

This thinking is Madison Ave. politics at it's worst. In the DCCC's mind, a disabled Iraq War veteran is a package they can sell to the public. The approach is all media driven and sales oriented. It's not about message. It's about sensationalism that will raise money to spend on media ads that, as Matt Stoller points out, are increasing irrelevant:"

read more - link:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/13/192556/60

[madfloridian]

7. Thanks, that was a good article.

:hi:

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. until yesterday I had not paid that much attention to that race

even when I got the letter from PDA -- I didn't delete it - just kind of saved it for later -- then when I saw the other post about the race and saw just how desperate the PROs are about smearing her--I figured it was time to make a donation right away..


http://www.cegelisforcongress.com/contribute